Governing By Crisis: For a stable US future, Congress must fix itself

9:25 PM,
Oct. 26, 2013

Lee Hamilton

Written by

Lee Hamilton
| Special to The Courier-Journal

One of the more amazing spectacles in the days after the government shutdown ended was the obsession in Washington with who won and who lost in the showdown. Yes, the capital is focused on next year's elections, but honestly! There was only one real loser, and that was the American people.

Why? Because nothing got resolved. The agreement leaves the government open only until mid-January and gives the Treasury the ability to borrow through early February. All that effort secured us the barest minimum that we needed. Tax reform, spending, entitlements, jobs and economic growth: We're no ...